Cook By Intuition

Spending a lot more time in the kitchen in the last few months, I begin to notice changes to the way I cook. I've always been more comfortable with baking and baking requires a lot of planning and precision. I have always rely heavily on recipes and that extends to cooking savory food. Recently, I am more confident with my cooking. With that confidence, cooking is now more intuitive and I can improvise delicious meals based on ingredients I have on hand. Dinner last night was a good example. The sunchokes and lettuce from my CSA share earlier this week were both begging to be used. A main course salad would be a logical choice. I surveyed my pantry and found the black beluga lentils I bought last week at Whole Foods. Lentils are great for a quick meal since they don't require pre-planning (i.e. overnight soaking). These glistening little pearls do not go mushy when cooked, pretty and practical for salads!

Having a well-stocked pantry is key to help me improvise dishes on the spot. A nice selection of mustard, vinegar, oil, herbs, nuts, and dried fruit can turn many ordinary dishes into extraordinary. I love salads but have little tolerence for spicy food. That is the reason why at last count, I have 8 different types of mustards but only one jar of hot sauce (boring standard Tabasco). Part of the fun is to customize your pantry to suit your style of cooking.

Roasted sunchokes and black beluga lentils are tossed together with toasty almonds, sweet tart dried apricots, and refreshing dill. I dressed the salad with a simple vinaigrette of olive oil, red wine vinegar, orange ginger mustard, and fig orange jam for a little added sweetness. Every delicious and healthy spoonful is enjoyed with first spring lettuce of the season. This is what I would consider as "chick food". Surprise surprise, it received rave review from little brother. I guess if something is delicious, it knows no gender boundary.

Like most of my main course salads, this one is vegan and gluten-free.

Method

Preheat oven to 400F. Fill a large mixing bowl with cold water. Peel the sunchokes and immediately drop them into the bowl of water to prevent oxidization. Don't worry if you cannot get the peel completely removed in all the nooks and crannies. Dice the sunchokes into 1.5cm pieces.

Toss the diced sunchokes with 1 tbsp olive oil, season with salt and pepper. Spread them, single layer, in a pan and roast for 30-40 minutes until fork tender. Set aside.

While the sunchokes are roasting, bring 3 cups of water to boil in a small saucepan. Put the lentils and bay leaf into the pan and return to boil. Turn the heat down to a simmer and cook for 30 minutes until soft. Drain and set aside. Discard bay leaf.

Set the oven to 350F. Spread the almonds in a small baking pan. Toast them for 7-8 minutes until fragrant. Roughly chop them when they're cool enough to handle.

Make the vinaigrette: in a small bowl, whisk together 2 tbsp olive oil, vinegar, mustard, and jam until smooth. Adjust seasoning if necessary.

In a large mixing bowl, toss together roasted sunchoke, lentils, apricots, almonds, and dill with the vinaigrette. Season with salt and pepper if necessary. At this point, you can store the salad in the fridge overnight.

To serve, divide lettuce pieces among three serving plates and generously top each with the dressed salad.

Comments

Cook By Intuition

Spending a lot more time in the kitchen in the last few months, I begin to notice changes to the way I cook. I've always been more comfortable with baking and baking requires a lot of planning and precision. I have always rely heavily on recipes and that extends to cooking savory food. Recently, I am more confident with my cooking. With that confidence, cooking is now more intuitive and I can improvise delicious meals based on ingredients I have on hand. Dinner last night was a good example. The sunchokes and lettuce from my CSA share earlier this week were both begging to be used. A main course salad would be a logical choice. I surveyed my pantry and found the black beluga lentils I bought last week at Whole Foods. Lentils are great for a quick meal since they don't require pre-planning (i.e. overnight soaking). These glistening little pearls do not go mushy when cooked, pretty and practical for salads!

Having a well-stocked pantry is key to help me improvise dishes on the spot. A nice selection of mustard, vinegar, oil, herbs, nuts, and dried fruit can turn many ordinary dishes into extraordinary. I love salads but have little tolerence for spicy food. That is the reason why at last count, I have 8 different types of mustards but only one jar of hot sauce (boring standard Tabasco). Part of the fun is to customize your pantry to suit your style of cooking.

Roasted sunchokes and black beluga lentils are tossed together with toasty almonds, sweet tart dried apricots, and refreshing dill. I dressed the salad with a simple vinaigrette of olive oil, red wine vinegar, orange ginger mustard, and fig orange jam for a little added sweetness. Every delicious and healthy spoonful is enjoyed with first spring lettuce of the season. This is what I would consider as "chick food". Surprise surprise, it received rave review from little brother. I guess if something is delicious, it knows no gender boundary.

Like most of my main course salads, this one is vegan and gluten-free.

Method

Preheat oven to 400F. Fill a large mixing bowl with cold water. Peel the sunchokes and immediately drop them into the bowl of water to prevent oxidization. Don't worry if you cannot get the peel completely removed in all the nooks and crannies. Dice the sunchokes into 1.5cm pieces.

Toss the diced sunchokes with 1 tbsp olive oil, season with salt and pepper. Spread them, single layer, in a pan and roast for 30-40 minutes until fork tender. Set aside.

While the sunchokes are roasting, bring 3 cups of water to boil in a small saucepan. Put the lentils and bay leaf into the pan and return to boil. Turn the heat down to a simmer and cook for 30 minutes until soft. Drain and set aside. Discard bay leaf.

Set the oven to 350F. Spread the almonds in a small baking pan. Toast them for 7-8 minutes until fragrant. Roughly chop them when they're cool enough to handle.

Make the vinaigrette: in a small bowl, whisk together 2 tbsp olive oil, vinegar, mustard, and jam until smooth. Adjust seasoning if necessary.

In a large mixing bowl, toss together roasted sunchoke, lentils, apricots, almonds, and dill with the vinaigrette. Season with salt and pepper if necessary. At this point, you can store the salad in the fridge overnight.

To serve, divide lettuce pieces among three serving plates and generously top each with the dressed salad.